BOJ to conduct digital yen trial with Japan’s 3 megabanks, others

THE Bank of Japan (BOJ) will start a trial with an eye on launching a digital yen with Japan’s three megabanks and regional banks next spring, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

The central bank could decide in 2026 whether to issue a digital currency after verifying issues for two years, such as whether there are problems with deposits and withdrawals from bank accounts, Nikkei said.

A spokesperson for the BOJ was not immediately available to comment on Wednesday (Nov 23), a public holiday in Japan.

The move was widely expected. It will likely come after the BOJ wraps up a second phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment that started in April and will last about a year.

While the BOJ has not made any decision yet on whether to issue its own digital currency, governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in May that providing a retail CBDC could be an option to secure a seamless and safe infrastructure in Japan.

Kuroda also called at a seminar at that time for increased efforts by global policymakers to contain risks that may emerge from the wider use of private digital currencies. REUTERS